Return or stay? The dilemma facing Syrians living in Europe

Ahmad Alhamada welcomed Euronews successful his level successful Ghent, Belgium. Upon our arrival, we were presented pinch a steaming cookware of tea, sliced watermelon and cashew nuts, each laid retired connected a java array successful his apartment's surviving room.

Originally from Idlib successful northwestern Syria, Ahmad fled nan state successful 2012 pursuing nan crackdown connected anti-regime protests, during nan reign of nan country's strongman President Bashar al-Assad.

The melodramatic autumn of al-Assad connected 8 December 2024 astatine nan hands of a astonishment rebellion led by Ahmed al-Sharaa's militant group - Hayat Tahrir al Sham - has brought considerations, erstwhile perceived arsenic distant dreams to nan forefront of reality.

The 30-year-old, who fled his state aged conscionable 18 unaware his displacement was to past much than a decade, now plans to return to Syria successful nan adjacent early to thief pinch nan rebuilding of his country.

Others person already embarked connected akin journeys. According to nan Office of nan United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), astir 720,000 Syrians were repatriated betwixt 8 December 2024 and 24 July 2025.

Of these, 40% returned from Lebanon, 37% from Turkey, 15% from Jordan and 5% were from Iraq. The willingness to return is considerably little for those successful Europe, however.

81% of Syrian refugees and asylum seekers surviving successful nan continent, who were surveyed by nan UNHCR successful May, declared that they had nary volition of returning to Syria wrong nan adjacent 12 months.

159 Syrians person returned to their state voluntarily from Belgium since 1 January 2025, according to nan Belgian Federal Agency for nan Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil).

The agency manages voluntary return programmes from Belgium to nan countries of root for each migrants, whether asylum seekers, rejected asylum seekers aliases those without a valid residence permit.

These programmes see carrier costs and recreation assistance. For immoderate migrants, they whitethorn besides see a departure assistance and support for re-integration successful their state of origin, which tin beryllium utilized to motorboat a mini business, assistance pinch rent payments and location renovations aliases screen aesculapian expenses.

And while these re-integration projects do not yet beryllium for Syrians, Fedasil is presently moving connected making these grants disposable to Syrians looking to reunite pinch their homeland, now free aft 14 years of sadistic civilian war.

Rebuilding nan country

Ahmad plans to return to Syria successful 2 aliases 3 years' clip to thief rebuild his country, if nan business permits.

"There are a batch of things to beryllium done. The state has galore needs. I person a bully life here, but I deliberation nan state really needs support," he says.

In his view, nan privilege is to disarm nan militias and merge nan country. Once these conditions person been met, Ahmad believes astir Syrians will beryllium "able to return" and spot their beloved homeland backmost connected nan world map.

Although his task has not yet materialised, he would for illustration to beforehand populist successful Syria done his association, nan Democratic Centre for Human Rights (DCHR). He adds that Syrians surviving successful Europe besides person an intermediary domiciled to play successful nan reconstruction of their country: "We tin thief European companies to find opportunities successful Syria. And we tin besides thief nan Syrian authorities to pull companies to put there," he asserts.

Ahmad was studying to go an technologist astatine Damascus University erstwhile nan anti-regime protests began successful 2011. He co-founded a wide student activity and took portion successful demonstrations against al-Assad, whom he does not hesitate to slam arsenic a "dictator".

"The state was for illustration a prison, you couldn't speak, you couldn't person an sentiment and if you did, you were killed," he explained.

Expelled from university, he was arrested and past imprisoned for 3 months successful nan notorious Sednayah prison, northbound of nan superior Damascus, wherever he was subjected to mock executions and torture utilizing electrical shocks.

He was later acquitted by a tribunal and released pinch nan sole intent being "to make room for different prisoners," according to him.

With his recently recovered freedom, Ahmed elected to fly Syria pinch his parents and siblings and opted to settee successful Lebanon, to stay successful adjacent geographic proximity to his country.

Lebanon was location to Ahmad and his family for 3 years, wherever he opened a mini shop nether a Lebanese sanction and took portion successful an inaugural to unfastened schools for Syrian children.

Lebanon hosts nan highest number of refugees per capita successful nan world. The Lebanese authorities estimates that astir 1.4 cardinal Syrians are displaced successful Lebanon, complete 700,000 of whom are registered arsenic refugees by theUNHCR.

Faced pinch nan sharply deteriorating surviving conditions, exacerbated by a dire economical situation which Beirut has grappled pinch for years, arsenic good arsenic threats from Hezbollah, Ahmad decided to depart Lebanon.

"Lebanon had go much vulnerable for Syrians, who were anti-Assad, anti-Iran and anti-Hezbollah successful nan region. So we were besides a target for Hezbollah, and truthful was my family," says Ahmad.

He boarded a vessel successful Turkey, crossed nan Mediterranean to Greece and past reached Germany, passing via North Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria.

The taxi driver who took him and his 2 friends crossed nan separator betwixt Serbia and Hungary threatened them pinch a weapon successful a wood successful an effort to extort €2,000 from them, he claimed.

After a two-week journey, he yet reached Belgium, arriving astatine Brussels North Station successful 2016.

Ahmad now useful successful nan IT section of a nationalist management agency and has dual Belgian and Syrian citizenship. He besides founded a mini association, nan Democratic Centre for Human Rights (DCHR), and was elected president of an relation representing nan Syrian organization successful Belgium.

When he woke up connected 8 December 2024, a half-asleep Ahmad discovered while looking astatine his telephone that Bashar al-Assad had fled during nan erstwhile night.

"It was a awesome day", he recalls. He celebrated each time successful nan streets of Brussels pinch nan Syrian organization and 3 days later boarded a level for Amman, nan Jordanian capital.

From location he took a taxi to nan Syrian border, which he crossed connected foot. The photos of nan al-Assad family, usually displayed astatine nan Syrian border, had disappeared.

"There was only nan Syrian flag, which is much than enough," a proud Ahmad says.

The separator station is now parented by soldiers from nan Free Syrian Army, a conjugation of decentralised Syrian rebel groups, now moving to support rule and bid successful nan country. He recalls collapsing into their arms and crying alongside them: "it was a very moving moment", he said.

Overwhelmed pinch emotion and unsure what to do aliases wherever to spell successful his first reunion pinch his homeland aft 13 years, Ahmad chose to make his first extremity astatine his assemblage successful Damascus.

"I was expelled and now I'm backmost and Bashar al-Assad is gone. So for me, it's a benignant of justness and karma", he rejoiced.

His reunion circuit was besides marked pinch notable stops successful Homs, Hama, Aleppo and his hometown of Idlib.

"I had to clasp each municipality and locomotion nan streets, talking to nan people," he says.

Though his return was joyful, Ahmad says it was besides a brazen reminder of nan misery that still lurks pursuing years of oppression and atrocities.

He says galore of nan towns he visited were near successful ruins, women were looking for their loved ones pinch photos successful their hands. He joined members of his family successful Idlib, wherever he discovered that his house, overmuch for illustration nan remainder of nan city, was destroyed. He now plans to rebuild it.

Staying successful Europe

27-year-old Aisha Abbas has been surviving successful nan Belgian metropolis of Antwerp since 2017. She is primitively from Darkoush, a mini municipality adjacent Idlib connected nan Turkish-Syrian border.

She recovered herself successful disbelief upon proceeding nan news of nan toppling of Assad, "I couldn't judge it. It felt for illustration a dream", recalls Aisha, who shared that she didn't slumber for 2 days aft proceeding nan news.

She regrets that her father, who "lived his full life for this moment", passed distant earlier getting nan chance to spot it. Her first thought is that she will yet beryllium capable to spot nan state wherever she was born.

"I want to spot nan streets, I want to spot people's faces, I want to spot really they live," she said.

Aisha has nevertheless ruled retired immoderate imperishable return to her country, chiefly owed to nan persistent insecurity.

"How do you expect a spot that's been astatine warfare for 14 years to beryllium safe for people, it's a battlefield", she declared. "The autumn of nan authorities isn't going to hole everything for illustration a magic wand".

For a start, she doesn't moreover cognize wherever to go.

"I don't person a house. I don't cognize if I'll beryllium capable to activity aliases person a life. I wouldn't person immoderate friends. Half my family is dead. I'm moreover frightened astatine nan thought of visiting Syria and seeing nan place, but there's nary 1 left," she explained.

Starting each complete again for nan 3rd clip aft having already mislaid everything is besides discouraging her from returning. She is wished to make a life for herself successful Belgium, whether it beryllium location "quite international" for illustration Antwerp, aliases location "very quiet" for illustration Ghent.

In 2011, Aisha's begetter took portion successful protests against nan Assad regime, which were violently repressed by nan fallen president's forces and loyalists.

"We weren't safe because he was an important personification successful nan revolution", explains Aisha. In June of that year, 13-year-old Aisha, her 3 younger brothers and her mother fled Syria and took refuge pinch her aunt connected nan different slope of nan Orontes River, successful Turkey's Antioch.

"I didn't moreover battalion a bag", she recalled, "I thought I'd beryllium backmost successful September for nan commencement of nan schoolhouse year". In nan end, she resumed classes astatine a "school" opened by nan Syrian organization successful a flat.

"I was really depressed for a year, until I realised that we had a life present and that we had to activity and build a caller organization to make caller friends", said Aisha.

Her mother opened a mini shop wherever nan women could make and waste their designs, specified arsenic dresses, crochet creations and handicrafts. The family stayed successful Turkey for 7 years.

Aisha's begetter yet reached Europe, crossing nan Mediterranean by vessel from Mersin successful southeastern Turkey to Greece, earlier reaching Antwerp wherever her family joined her by level acknowledgment to nan EU's family reunification.

"Life successful Turkey was really difficult for america and it wasn't getting immoderate better. It was getting worse and worse", explains nan student. "He thought that Europe mightiness beryllium amended for schoolhouse and work".

The family of six lived successful a workplace flat earlier managing to rent a level successful nan countryside.

"In Belgium, it was very different because I felt different successful nan measurement I dressed, successful nan measurement I spoke. I didn't speak Dutch, I said English each nan time. I felt I was different and that was really difficult," recalls Aisha.

Already trilingual - she speaks fluent Arabic, Turkish and English - she easy added Dutch to her linguistic arsenal and obtained a grade successful trading and communications. To finance her studies, she worked successful a zero-waste integrated shop and gave ceramics lessons.

This autumn, she starts a bachelor's grade successful communications and hopes to activity successful trading aliases journalism. As she has not been granted exile status, she has to renew her residence licence each twelvemonth and is trying to get Belgian citizenship.

More than 6 cardinal Syrians were registered refugees aliases asylum seekers by nan extremity of 2024, chiefly successful Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. The EU is location to astir 1.3 cardinal Syrian refugees aliases asylum seekers, chiefly distributed crossed Germany, Sweden and Austria.

The time aft Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, a number of European countries, including Germany, Denmark and Austria, announced their volition to suspend nan appraisal of further assylum applications from Syrians.

This year, Syrians person lodged less asylum applications successful EU countries, according to figures from a study by nan European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), published connected 8 September.

Syrians are nary longer nan starring nationality among asylum seekers successful nan 27-member bloc, a position which now belongs to Venezuelan and Afghan nationals. The EUAA warns nevertheless that definite groups of Syrians are still astatine consequence of persecution.